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Ooh la la! You can hop over to France for a few hours or a day, whether on the boat or by train.

This is a list of super-cheap French trip deals so you can say "au revoir!" to expensive Channel crossings. Routes include Dover to Calais or Dunkirk by ferry and London to Paris/Brussels/Amsterdam via coach.

Important! Ensure you know how to shop safely before trying these deals

DOs:

For safety, pay by credit card if over £100

Protect purchases under £100

DON'Ts:

Use unfamiliar sites without checking

Let your antivirus run out

Full DOs and DON'Ts

Tips for shopping safely

Whether it's a retailer or restaurateur, airline or air-conditioner seller, computer shop or car rental company, there are always two main risks. Either it's a dodgy company, or it's a legit company that has financial problems and goes bust.

The aim of these tips is to help you minimise the risks.

What happens if a company goes bust?

Quite simply, its customers are immediately transformed into creditors. This hits hardest if you've ordered goods or tickets from them, and not had delivery, as then you become one of a line of people trying to get your money back out of the company's assets, and you usually get back much less than you paid in.

Even if you've had delivery, if the company you bought from goes under and there's a problem with the goods, it can mean you've no comeback.

While MoneySavingExpert.com endeavours to check deals are valid, we don't check companies ' finances. Even huge names like MFI and Woolies have folded, so it's very important you use the right strategies to stay protected where possible.

DO Pay by credit card for goods over £100

Unlike debit cards, cheques or cash, pay in full or part (even just £1) on a credit card and by law the lender's jointly liable with the retailer.

This means you have exactly the same rights with the card company as you do with the retailer. So if it goes bust, you can simply take your complaints there instead and get money back if there's no delivery.

Yet it's important you ALWAYS REPAY IN FULL each month, so there's no interest cost. See the full Section 75 guide.

DO Protect purchases under £100

Section 75 doesn't apply to purchases under £100, but there's still an option which can help. It isn't a legal protection, just Visa, Mastercard and Amex's rules, but it's a good back-up.

Spend on a Visa, Mastercard or Amex credit card or any debit or charge card. If the goods don't appear, you can try to ask your bank/card provider to reclaim the cash from the seller's bank, so long as you complain within 120 days of realising there’s a problem. See the Chargeback guide for full details.

DON'T Use unfamiliar sites without checking

Bogus websites are often set up to cash in on popular products like Ugg boots and Tiffany necklaces, so be wary if it's an unfamiliar site. And don't think that because it appears on a reputable search engine, that makes it a reputable site - always check.

DO Check the site's legit

Most folk know to look for a security padlock on the bottom right of a website, but that doesn't mean the site's legit, just that payment's secure.

To find out who registered the site and when, search the Whois database. Reputable firms should also appear on the Companies House site, the UK Government's official companies register. Be very wary of businesses with just a PO Box or email address.

Study the site's worldwide web ranking on Alexa. Anything in the top 100,000 means it's reasonably big and a good, though not foolproof indication of legitimacy. Do a quick Google search for other shoppers' experiences.

DON'T Let your antivirus run out

Crucially, ensure your security's up-to-date - free software can be downloaded to your computer in about five minutes. Full details in the Free Antivirus Software guide.

DO Know your distance selling rights

Many people are surprised to learn you've MORE rights buying online (or by telephone/catalogue) due to the Distance Selling Regulations.

These give you a legal right to send most goods back within seven days for a full refund (including outward delivery costs), even if there's no fault. You'll usually need to pay for the return delivery. Read Consumer Rights for a full guide.

However, of course, this is balanced by the fact ordering online automatically means there's a time gap between ordering and delivering - when the company has your money. So if it goes bust during that time, the distance selling rights don't help.

DO Understand sometimes there's no protection.

Ultimately, there is always a risk that a company can go bust. If the above routes don't apply, then you have to make a decision about whether you're willing to take the risk of parting with your cash.

Don't be scared of this. Every day we all make transactions based on trust, and this is part of that, but do balance up the amount you're spending against the risk. Don't give large amounts of money to a company you're not sure about.

Go online to Tesco* to convert your Clubcard vouchers. Tesco will send you an email token code within 24hrs.

Once you've got your code, make a booking by ringing 08448 79 70 88. Travel tokens can be used as full or part payment, but you won't get change; the remainder goes back on your Clubcard. Simply pay any extra on a debit or credit card (there are no fees).

Finally, be sure to arrive 30 minutes before your departure time.

MSE Michael says:

Spend Tesco points in-store and they're worth 1p, yet convert them to Tesco Rewards and they can be worth three or four times that value (see Boost Tesco points for details). Plus find old Tesco points you may not have spent. Read the Find Lost Tesco Points guide.

Reward tokens can't be refunded, transferred or exchanged, used in conjunction with any other offers, Eurotunnel products such as insurance or travelling with a pet or with the frequent traveller programme or flexi plus tickets.

Before spending, use Martin's Mantras. If you answer 'NO' to any, Don't buy!

are you

Skint?
ask:

Do I need it?

Can I afford it?

are you

not skint?
ask:

Will I use it?

Is it worth it?

Free protection for all shopping!

There's a little-known piece of legislation that turns any credit card into a financial self-defence superhero. 'Section 75' of the Consumer Credit Act means your plastic must protect anything you buy for more than £100 for free, so if there's a problem or the company goes bust, you can still get your money back.

And although Section 75 doesn't apply to debit cards, there is something else to fall back on if you've paid using a debit card, or used a credit card for a purchase under £100. Known as Chargeback, this is part of banks' and card companies' internal rules and not a legal requirement. Read full details of Section 75 or Chargeback, plus how to claim, in our guides.

If a link has a * by it, that means it is an affiliated link and therefore it helps MoneySavingExpert stay free to use, as it is tracked to us. If you go through it, it can sometimes result in a payment or benefit to the site.

You shouldn't notice any difference and the link will never negatively impact the product. Plus the editorial line (the things we write) is NEVER impacted by these links. We aim to look at all available products. If it isn't possible to get an affiliate link for the top deal, it is still included in exactly the same way, just with a non-paying link. For more details, read How This Site Is Financed.

For the sake of transparency, so you can check there's no difference, here are duplicate versions of the * links that don't help MoneySavingExpert.com: Currently no affil links.

How this site works

We think it's important you understand the strengths and limitations of the site. We're a journalistic website and aim to provide the best MoneySaving guides, tips, tools and techniques, but can't guarantee to be perfect, so do note you use the information at your own risk and we can't accept liability if things go wrong.

This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service.

We don't AS a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned (how likely they are to go bust), but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the section 75 guide for protection tips).

We often link to other websites, but we can't be responsible for their content.

Always remember anyone can post on the MSE forums, so it can be very different from our opinion.

MoneySavingExpert.com is part of the MoneySupermarket Group, but is entirely editorially independent. Its stance of putting consumers first is protected and enshrined in the legally-binding MSE Editorial Code.